Radio: KISS FM Breakfast show CSP

Our second Radio CSP is the KISS FM Breakfast show.

Remember, our Radio products are targeted CSPs and need to be studied with reference to two elements of the theoretical framework - Audiences and Industries as well as Historical, Social and Cultural Contexts. This means we need to study the way radio audiences and industries have changed over time and what impact this may have on society. 

Notes from the lesson: KISS FM Breakfast show

You'll find the notes from our lessons on KISS FM below.

Background and history

Kiss FM first broadcast on 7 October 1985 as a pirate radio station, initially to South London then across the whole city. Transmitting seven-days from the start, it would be regularly taken off-air by the authorities and so became a weekend operation shortly afterwards. This means that it has its origins in common with radio in the 1960s (such as Tony Blackburn’s Radio Caroline show) as KISS was originally an illegal station that became legitimate as it grew in popularity. KISS FM is now seen as more mainstream and less controversial and has been operating legally since 1990. In 2007, it was bought by international conglomerate Bauer Media.

The station developed a committed following across London of mostly young people with figures in the press at the time stating that the station attracted some 500,000 listeners while operating as an unlicensed pirate station.

Gordon Mac approached a successful London club promoter, Guy Wingate, to discuss ways of improving the KISS FM profile. As a result, Wingate launched the very successful Kiss nights at the Wag Club where DJs from the station would DJ night club nights. These nights increased the station's reputation as a young person’s music radio station. 

KISS FM Breakfast show with Jordan and Perri

KISS has tried to move with the times by engaging on social media with its listeners and by bringing in DJs who they think will appeal to a younger target audience. Jordan and Perri took over the KISS FM Breakfast show in summer 2020 after previous hosts Rickie, Melvin and Charlie left for BBC Radio 1.

KISS FM deliberately chose younger replacements who have a big social media following (Perri has over one million followers on TikTok).

You can read more about Jordan and Perri taking over the Breakfast show in this BBC website interview.

Personal relationships: important for breakfast radio

Applying Blumler and Katz's Uses and Gratifications theory, a key aspect of the KISS FM Breakfast show is the personal relationship the audience feel they have with the presenters Jordan and Perri. They took over the KISS FM Breakfast show in July 2020 after finding fame as part of the dance group Diversity and also presenting a weekend show on the station. The two are good friends who have worked together for over 10 years and KISS hope that natural chemistry will appeal to their listeners.

Here's just one of the ways KISS FM first introduced their Breakfast show team:

KISS FM deliberately chose breakfast show hosts who are:

• Members of a dance troupe called Diversity who appeared on Britain’s Got Talent (watch their first performance below)
• Friends in real life and have a natural 'chemistry' which is so important for breakfast radio and connecting with audiences. They are known for their 'banter' and personality.
• Connected to political movements such as Black Lives Matter (see clip below)

Diversity - Britain's Got Talent audition:

Diversity - Black Lives Matter:

Active v passive audience

What opportunities are there on KISS FM for audiences to actively engage?

• Listeners can send in requests or shout outs to friends via social media platforms (KISS FM are particularly active across Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok).
• Audience interaction and involvement is a key aspect to the Breakfast show and Perri has over a million followers on TikTok. 
• Audiences can download the KISS Kube app to stream shows at a time convenient to them.
• KISS runs over 100 events every summer that helps them connect with 300,000+ listeners. They also host an annual Halloween event at Wembley Arena for 11,000 fans. 

Industry contexts

KISS is part of Bauer Radio, a subsidiary of the Bauer Media Group (BMG). This multinational cross-media group owns numerous magazine and radio brands but also has interests in digital media, TV streaming and event organisation, mostly linked to its radio and magazine properties. This makes Kiss FM commercial radio - the opposite to the BBC and public service radio.

The KISS Network is made up of KISS, KISSTORY and KISS Fresh alongside recently launched online stations KISS Bliss (chilled out music), KISS Dance and KISS Garage. Each of these targets its own audience within the 15–34 age group with different styles and types of content. All are available on a number of different platforms, but the range is not the same for each of the brands. 

All are available on the KISS website and the KISS Kube app, but only KISS is available on FM radio. In contrast, only KISS and KISSTORY can be received on DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting).

KISS listening figures

Like most traditional media brands, KISS FM is struggling to maintain its audience in the digital age. The previous breakfast show hosted by Rickie, Melvin and Charlie had over 2 million listeners but by the time Jordan and Perri took over it was already down to 1.4m. The most recent figures have Jordan and Perri at 980,000 listeners so less than half the 2m figure the KISS FM Breakfast show used to enjoy.

How does KISS FM make money?

Bauer Media Group revenue was 2.2 BILLION euros (see Bauer website here for more details) which demonstrates how much money is made across their many media brands. 

KISS FM makes money through advertising, sponsorship and events (such as summer festivals and the Wembley Arena Halloween party). The KISS FM Breakfast show is one of the most popular slots for the radio station so losing around one million listeners over the last few years means Bauer Media cannot make as much money from the KISS brand as it used to. Indeed, Bauer Media Group's revenue is down from 2.3bn euros - in part due to the increasing pressure on traditional media such as magazines and radio.

The changing nature of radio

Young people tend to listen to radio much less as the media landscape is saturated with other products for them to consume (games, apps, numerous TV channels, streaming services, etc).  

Also, people now expect to consume media products not in a linear fashion (you turn on the radio and hear what’s currently broadcast) but on-demand (streaming services such as Spotify, Amazon Music and Deezer). This means Kiss FM is attempting to target an audience of 15-34 year olds who are consuming media in a totally different way compared to radio in the 1960s.

Radio in the 1960s v radio today

There are many differences in the radio industry between the launch of BBC Radio 1 in 1967 and the global online marketplace we see today:

• More radio stations broadcasting (There are around 600 licensed radio stations in the country) and thousands of online broadcasters.
• Improved quality as radio moved from AM to FM and now to DAB (Digital Audio Broadcasting).
• Radio stations have become increasingly specialised (look at KISS, KISSTORY and KISS FRESH or rivals Absolute Radio, Absolute 60s, 70s, 80s, etc.)
• Many shows are downloadable on-demand (e.g. as podcasts), on a range of devices (e.g. using iPlayer on TV) and streaming-only ‘stations’ (e.g. Spotify ‘stations with no DJs')

Regulation: how is KISS FM regulated?

KISS FM is regulated by Ofcom. This means the KISS FM Breakfast show must follow the Ofcom broadcasting code and not include anything inappropriate for children or younger listeners. 

In 2006, KISS was fined a record fee for any UK commercial radio station of £175,000 by media regulator Ofcom. Ofcom punished KISS for "numerous and serious breaches" of broadcasting codes after receiving 10 complaints from April to November 2005. They involved prank calls on the Bam Bam breakfast show where consent was not sought from the victims and controversial material aired when children were likely to be listening. KISS said it accepted the findings and apologised for any offence. You can read more on that case here.

KISS FM Breakfast show CSP: blog tasks

Work through the following questions to complete your final Radio case study on the KISS FM Breakfast show CSP:

Audience

Look at the KISS media pack carefully. This will give you a brilliant background to the brand and how they target their audience (important note: it features the old Breakfast presenting team). 

Answer the following questions:

1) Read page 2. What is KISS FM's mission?

2) Look at page 3. What is the target audience for KISS FM? As well as writing the key statistics from the media pack, try and suggest what psychographic groups would fit the KISS audience too.

3) Now look at page 5 - The KISS network. How does KISS use digital media and technology to reach its audience? 

4) Now look at the other side of page 5. What content do KISS Fresh and KISSTORY offer and how can audiences access those stations?  

5) Read page 6. What are the different ways audiences can actively engage with the KISS radio brand? 

6) Are listeners to the KISS Breakfast show active or passive? You can argue this point either way - explain your opinion in your answer.

7) Now think about the clips you've watched or listened to of the KISS FM Breakfast show with Jordan and Perri. What audience pleasures are offered by the KISS FM Breakfast show? Use Blumler and Katz Uses and Gratifications theory here.

8) How have audiences changed in terms of how they listen to music and radio since the 1960s?

9) How does the KISS FM Breakfast show contrast with Tony Blackburn's 1967 Radio 1 Breakfast show and the launch of BBC Radio 1?

10) Use Stuart Hall's Reception theory to offer a preferred and oppositional reading of the KISS FM Breakfast show. For the preferred reading, why do fans love the show? On the oppositional side, why might someone criticise the show or not want to listen?

Industry

1) When did KISS FM first launch and what type of station was it then? 

2) Look at the Bauer Media Group's list of brands. How many different types of media can you find on there? What brands do you recognise? 

3) How does KISS FM make money? 

4) How many listeners does the KISS Breakfast show have and how has this changed in recent years?

5) How is KISS FM regulated and what can happen if they break the rules?

Grade 8/9 extension tasks

Read this BBC feature on Jordan and Perri taking over the KISS FM Breakfast show. Pick out three reasons KISS FM were keen to get the pair to present their breakfast show.

Read this On The Radio article on listener figures for UK radio stations. How does the KISS FM Breakfast show compare with rivals? Why are many traditional radio stations struggling? 

Read this BBC feature on the previous KISS FM breakfast show hosts and how they were poached by BBC Radio 1. What can you find in the article regarding the importance of BBC Radio 1 and also KISS FM's success?

Read more about Kiss being fined for breaking the Ofcom broadcasting code in this BBC article here.  

Finally, try this exam question on Radio: How successful have radio stations like KISS FM been in attracting a young audience to traditional radio? 

Due date on Google Classroom

Radio: Launch of BBC Radio 1 CSP

Our next unit is Radio - a targeted topic that involves looking at the history of radio in the UK.

We need to study the key concepts of Industries and Audiences for Radio.

BBC Radio 1 launch 1967

Our first Radio CSP is the launch of BBC Radio 1 in 1967.

Our Radio products are targeted CSPs and need to be studied with reference to two elements of the Audiences and Industries as well as Historical, Social and Cultural Contexts. This means we need to study the way radio audiences and industries have changed over time and what impact this may have on society.

Notes from the lesson: BBC Radio 1 launch

The launch of Radio 1 was an event of historical and social significance and an important turning point in the history of radio. You would not normally be aware of this historical period in radio, but it provides a useful point of contrast with modern radio stations that can be online / niche / youth-orientated / available on a number of different platforms.

The history of BBC Radio

It is key in this unit of work to understand the importance of radio in 1967. Television was not yet universally available and radio was the key entertainment device. The radio provision in the mid-1960s was:

BBC Radio Home (1939-1967) broadcasting education programmes and news. Mainly speech-based. Replaced by Radio 4.

BBC Radio Light (1945-1967) broadcasting mainly light entertainment (comedy / drama) and music. Replaced by Radio 2.

BBC Third (1946-1970) broadcasting intellectual arts-based talk and music. Replaced by Radio 3.

BBC: funding and reorganisation of radio

As you have seen from our work on Doctor Who and His Dark Materials, the BBC is funded through the compulsory licence fee (£159 now; it was around £4 a year in the 1960s). As everybody pays, then everybody should receive content suitable for their needs. Given the growth of pirate radio in the mid-1960s, the BBC realised that it was not providing content for this growth market of younger people. 

In response, the BBC reorganised and renamed their radio channels. On 30 September 1967, the Light Programme was split into Radio 1 offering continuous "Popular" music and Radio 2 for more 'Easy Listening'.
  
The "Third" programme became Radio 3 offering classical music and cultural programming. The Home Service became Radio 4 offering news, and non-musical content such as quiz shows, readings, dramas and plays. 

Historical context: the 1960s and pirate radio

There were changing attitudes to music and youth culture in the early 1960s.  ‘Pop’ music was becoming more popular and attitudes in young people were becoming more relaxed.  There was clearly a need for a radio outlet for this music with a less formal presentation style; but there was nothing on the BBC. This led to the growth of ‘pirate’ radio stations who could produce these shows for young people, but were beyond the control of regulators.

Needle time

There were concerns that too much music on the radio would mean that people would no longer buy records, so the  Musicians' Union and Phonographic Performance Limited (a music licensing company) restricted the amount of recorded music that could be transmitted by the BBC during the course of any 24-hour period. This was called ‘Needle Time’ and in 1967 meant they could only play five hours of music per day. Pirate stations did not have these restrictions imposed on them because the law was difficult to apply offshore - and so could play more music. They were, therefore, more popular with young people than the BBC.

Radio 1 target audience

The Radio 1 target audience in 1967 was young people who were listening to pirate radio. Today, the BBC Radio 1 target audience is 15-29 year olds but they are struggling to attract these listeners. The median age for a Radio 1 listener is 32 and only 41% of the audience today are aged between 15-29.

BBC Radio 1 launch: successful?

When first launched in 1967, Radio 1 was not as popular as the BBC had hoped. There were a number of reasons why Radio 1 was not a success initially:

• It was not seen as ‘cool’ by many young people as the BBC stood for traditional, conservative values.
• It struggled financially as there was no increase in the licence fee to pay for this extra radio station.
• Whilst Radio 1 tried to copy the pirate radio’s style, it didn’t quite do it effectively initially as it broadcast simultaneously with Radio 2 – so it had to have a more formal style than the pirate broadcasters.  Some young people didn’t respond positively to this.

However, the 1967 Marine Broadcasting Offences Act officially outlawed pirate radio stations. The Government had closed the legal loophole that allowed these stations to broadcast and these had a British audience of 10 to 15 million. This meant the audience had to go to Radio 1 if they wanted to listen to popular music.

Many of the pirate station DJs were then employed by BBC Radio 1, thus bringing many of the their loyal listeners with them. Commercial radio didn’t broadcast until 1973 so it had no competition. Radio 1 also developed better content more suitable to the target audience as it became more popular. In the 1970s and 1980s, Radio 1 became the most listened to station in the world with audiences regularly over 10 million. 

You can read more about the history of Radio 1 on this timeline here.

Radio 1 Launch CSP: blog tasks

Work through the following questions to complete your first Radio case study on the launch of BBC Radio 1:

Historical, social and cultural contexts

1) What radio stations were offered by the BBC before 1967?

2) How was BBC radio reorganised in September 1967? What were the new stations that launched?

3) What was pirate radio and why was it popular?

4) Why did pirate radio stop broadcasting in 1967?

5) How did the BBC attract young audiences to Radio 1 after pirate radio stations were closed down?

6) What was 'needle time' and why was it a problem for BBC Radio?

7) How did BBC Radio 1 offer different content to previous BBC radio stations?

8) Who was the first presenter for BBC Radio 1 and why did these new Radio 1 DJs cause upset initially at the traditional BBC?

9) Listen to excerpts from the Tony Blackburn's first 1967 broadcast - how might it have appealed to young listeners?

10) How was Tony Blackburn's radio show more like pirate radio rather than traditional BBC radio content?

Audience and industry

1) What was the target audience for BBC Radio 1 in 1967?

2) Why did Radio 1 initially struggle to attract young listeners?

3) What audience pleasures did Radio 1 offer listeners in 1967? (Use Blumler and Katz Uses and Gratifications theory).

4) How is the BBC funded?

5) Applying Stuart Hall's Reception theory, what would the preferred and oppositional readings have been for BBC Radio 1 in 1967? 


Grade 8/9 extension tasks

Look at this BBC Radio 1 timeline from its launch in 1967 to today. What do you notice has changed in BBC radio over those 50+ years?

Read this Guardian interview with the second DJ to broadcast on BBC Radio 1. How does he describe the 1960s and his move to the BBC?

The BBC is a public service broadcaster. What does this mean and why is it an important part of the history of BBC Radio 1?

Due date on Google Classroom

Television: Final index

We have now completed our work on Television - our first in-depth topic and one guaranteed to come up in Media Paper 2.  

We now now need to create an index to make sure we have completed all the blog work for this topic. Every index you create is an excellent way to make sure you are revising the course as we go - as well as highlighting if you've missed anything. Your index should include the following:

1) Television: Introduction to TV drama

2) Doctor Who: Language and Representation

3) Doctor Who: Audience and Industries

4) His Dark Materials: Language and Representation

5) His Dark Materials: Audience and Industries

6) Industry contexts: the BBC and public service broadcasting

For your index, the text should link to YOUR blogpost for that topic so you can access your work quickly and easily for checking and revision. This also means if you have missed anything you can catch up with the work and notes and won't underperform in assessments and exams due to gaps in your knowledge. 

Assessment revision

You will have an assessment on the Television topic as your end of Year 10 exam. This will be an assessment based on the real Paper 2 Section A to help prepare for this aspect of the final exams. You'll need to revise everything you've learned for Television across the four key concepts - Language, Representations, Audience and Industries.

You can find both CSP episodes on our Greenford Google drive so you can re-watch key scenes as part of your revision.

Television: Industry contexts - Public Service Broadcasting

The BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) is a vital part of our media landscape.

It is a public service broadcaster which means we own it. It doesn't make a profit and exists to produce high-quality media for the British public. It's paid for by the TV licence and produces a huge amount of content for the whole of Britain - TV, radio, BBC website, iPlayer and more. The BBC still follows its original mission statement from 1927:

Inform, Educate and Entertain

The licence fee is currently £174.50 a year and must be paid by any household that wants to watch live broadcast TV or iPlayer. You don't need a TV licence to watch Netflix or other international streaming services. 

BBC: Industry notes

The BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) is a public service organisation and the oldest national broadcaster and the biggest in terms of employees [over 20,000]. It is different from other TV broadcasters in that funding comes from us all as BBC licence fee payers whereas other channels rely on advertising and sponsorship.  The BBC has 3 key purposes: To Inform, Educate & Entertain. This means:

• To provide information (that is supposed to be balanced)
• To support learning for people of all ages
• To produce creative output
• To have diverse content (such as with its representations)
• To reflect the United Kingdom, its culture and values to the world

BBC regulation

TV is regulated in the UK to ensure that rules are followed and inappropriate content is not broadcast to audiences.

The BBC is regulated by OfCOM (the Office of Communications). OfCOM oversees all media channels and produces a code of conduct that all media channels must follow or have their licence to make content removed and/or be fined heavily. This includes what can be shown before the 9pm watershed and various other quality standards.

Although OfCOM is instructed by government, it is independent which means the BBC can remain impartial and does not simply broadcast what the government tells it to. 

Public service media - an explainer:

TV industry contexts: blog tasks

Read the notes above and this BBC website article about the TV licence fee. Note that since it was published the cost of a TV licence has increased to £174.50. 

Complete the following questions on the BBC and industry contexts using the notes above the article you have read:

1) What is the BBC's mission statement?

2) How is the BBC funded?

3) What must the BBC do to meet its public service broadcasting responsibilities? (Look at the five bullet points in the notes above).

4) Who is the regulator for TV and Radio in the UK? You can find details on this in the notes above.

5) How is TV and Radio regulated by Ofcom? 

6) How do Doctor Who and His Dark Materials help the BBC to meet the BBC's remit to inform, educate and entertain? Answer this question in at least 150 words.

Grade 8/9 extension questions

Read this Wired feature on how the BBC is adapting to take on Netflix. What does the article suggest the BBC needs to do to remain relevant in a streaming TV age?

How does His Dark Materials help the BBC to take on the big streaming rivals like Netflix and Amazon? 

Do you think the TV Licence is good value for money? Why? 

Television: His Dark Materials - Audience and Industry

There are some important contexts we need to learn for the Industry and Audience key concepts for His Dark Materials.

His Dark Materials is an example of contemporary family/fantasy TV drama. The series is based on the

trilogy of books of the same name by Philip Pullman. The second series is based on the book

The Subtle Knife.

Industries

The CSP episode is the opening episode of Season 2, The City of Magpies, and was first broadcast in the UK on Sunday 8 November 2020 on BBC1 at 8.10pm. It was made available on iPlayer on the same

day, and on DVD from 28 December 2020.

It is significant because it was co-commissioned for an international audience by the BBC and the

American television network HBO, and was always intended to be distributed on a number of

platforms: as a scheduled, broadcast programme (BBC1), on cable (HBO), as well as on demand

(iPlayer) and on DVD. It was created for these platforms by an independent company, Bad Wolf.

The first episode of the first series of His Dark Materials series was watched by audiences of 7.2 million in the UK and 423,000 on HBO. The first broadcasts of the CSP episode had audiences of 4.4 million on BBC1 and 227,000 on HBO.

Industry terminology: GLoW

Some of the key terminology for studying the Industries contexts for His Dark Materials:

• Co-production: a media product produced by two separate companies or institutions. His Dark Materials is a big-budget co-production between the BBC (from the UK) and HBO (from America).
• Brand Identity: how a business presents itself and wants to be perceived by the consumer.

His Dark Materials marketing and promotion

As His Dark Materials was aimed at an international audience, the show features both British and American star names such as Brits Ruth Wilson and James McAvoy and American Lin-Manuel Miranda who wrote the smash hit musical Hamilton.

There were a range of videos and promotional events designed to create a buzz around the new season of His Dark Materials:

His Dark Materials Season 1 recap

His Dark Materials Comic-Con panel:

Bad Wolf: outstanding TV drama production company based in Wales

Bad Wolf was founded in 2015 to create ambitious, imaginative and relevant drama for the global TV marketplace.  From its headquarters in South Wales the company has built up an international reputation as one of the foremost independent production companies in the UK, producing over 50 hours of high-end drama for broadcasters and networks including HBO, BBC, AMC and Sky.

Read more of this on the Bad Wolf website and watch the Bad Wolf showreel here.


HBO: raising the bar for television

HBO is an American pay-TV company that is known for producing some of the greatest TV shows of all time from The Sopranos to The Wire to Succession. As a co-commission with the BBC, His Dark Materials had two hugely respected media giants behind it - and in HBO's case a huge amount of money. HBO has over 40 million subscribers and brings in around $7 BILLION in subscription revenue each year. To put this into perspective, the whole BBC budget (for everything - TV, radio, website, iPlayer etc.) is around £5 billion of which around £3.5 billion comes from the licence fee). 

HBO - Changing an industry:

Audience

His Dark Materials was pitched by the BBC as a family drama. 

Target audience

• Aimed at a contemporary family audience for the BBC Sunday night broadcast slot (8.10pm)
• Targeted at fans of the fantasy genre along with fans of the original books by Philip Pullman.
• Diverse representations of gender and race may appeal to a younger audience.
• Rated for 14+ by HBO due to some scenes that may be frightening to younger children.
• The UK DVD release of His Dark Materials season 2 is rated 12 by the BBFC.

The way audiences watch TV has changed

His Dark Materials provides an opportunity to study the contemporary television industry and audiences. The series was created at a time when the BBC’s role and finances were under question, and when on-demand streaming through sources such as Netflix and Amazon Prime had become normalised. These latter companies were creating big-budget series to attract and satisfy more subscribers. His Dark Materials was rumoured to be the BBC’s most expensive series to date, with HBO sharing the costs and guaranteeing an international audience. This helps the BBC to compete with their streaming rivals like Netflix.

Fans - the fandom reaction

Watch this fan reaction video to His Dark Materials Season 2 trailer from TV fan YouTube channel Sesskasays:

His Dark Materials: Audience and Industries blog tasks

Create a new blogpost called 'His Dark Materials: Audience and Industries blog tasks' and answer the following questions:

Audience

1) What audience do you think His Dark Materials is aimed at and why? Think about demographic and psychographic groups. You can revise Pyschographics here.

2) What audience pleasures are offered by His Dark Materials - The City of Magpies? Apply Blumler and Katz's Uses and Gratifications theory to the episode. Make sure you provide specific examples from the episode to support your ideas.

Personal Identity: 

Personal Relationships: 

Diversion (Escapism): 

3) Thinking of the 3 Vs audience pleasures (Visceral, Vicarious and Voyeuristic pleasures), which of these can be applied to His Dark Materials? Refer to specific scenes or moments in the episode to explain your answer. 

4) How did fans react to Season 2 of His Dark Materials? What about critic reviews? You can find some possible answers for this in this BBC website article on the critical reception for His Dark Materials and watch the fan reaction video above.

5) What might be some of the preferred and oppositional readings for His Dark Materials? Why did some fans love it? Why have other people criticised it? 

Industries

1) Which companies produced this His Dark Materials series?

2) What were the UK viewing figures for A City of Magpies? How did this compare to season 1 of His Dark Materials?

3) What was American network HBO's role in making His Dark Materials and why is this important? Look at the notes above for more on this.

4) What famous stars are in His Dark Materials and why do you think they were selected for the show? Watch the Comic Con panel video in the notes above to see the stars talking about the show.

5) Who are Bad Wolf and what do they produce?

Comparison: Doctor Who - An Unearthly Child and His Dark Materials - The City of Magpies

1) How are the technical conventions different between 1963 Doctor Who and 2020 His Dark Materials (e.g. camerawork, editing, sound and mise-en-scene)?

2) What similarities and differences are there between Doctor Who and His Dark Materials in terms of genre and narrative?

3) How are representations of people, places and groups similar or different in the two shows?



Grade 8/9 extension tasks and reading

Read this Guardian review of His Dark Materials - The City of Magpies and also read some of the comments 'below the line' (BTL). Do you agree with the review? What about the comments? 

Try this critical Irish Times review of His Dark Materials. Why does it think the show is disappointing?

Here's another review of our CSP episode of His Dark Materials. What does it say about the difference for fans of the book versus fans of the TV show?

This Slate feature on the cultural significance of American network HBO is a long read but gives you a brilliant history of the channel. It also shows how HBO has turned TV into possibly the most respected and culturally significant media entertainment form.

Due date on Google Classroom.

Television: His Dark Materials - Language and Representation

Our second television Close-Study Product is BBC and HBO co-production His Dark Materials from 2020. 

The CSP episode is Season 2, Episode 1 but don't worry if you haven't seen the first series - there are plenty of clips online to learn the background to the storyline. 

Remember, TV is an in-depth study which means we need to analyse the products in terms of media language, industries, audience and representation. Television will be examined in Paper 2 with a short clip to analyse - either from Doctor Who - An Unearthly Child or His Dark Materials. 

Notes from the lessons: His Dark Materials

Language

Reminder - TV drama conventions: 

• Dramatic narrative, usually linear (with continuity across episodes.) This is called narrative arc.
• Ensemble cast (a range of characters with own storylines). Sometimes an episode will focus more on one character than another.
• Specific technical codes e.g. realistic lighting and editing for dramas set in the present day to keep it gritty.
• Use of stereotypical characters to get messages across quickly.
• Common use of flashback, point of view shots, dialogue and voice over, enigma and action codes throughout. 
• Hybridity: Two genres or media types combined e.g. Stranger Things is a science fiction / horror television drama. 
• Multi-strand: when a narrative is made up of lots of different storylines.

Fantasy TV genre codes and conventions

• Emotive, often quest-based narratives
• Political narrative themes or social commentary
• Iconography including magic, mystical creatures or similar
• Often set in imagined worlds or time periods

In addition, the following often apply to fantasy TV series:

• Younger target audience or family audience
• Dedicated fanbase; fandom groups and online communities
• Big budgets and high production values 

His Dark Materials: background information

Season 1 recap:

Recap YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J44E6BiLPtc 

His Dark Materials is available on iPlayer here.

His Dark Materials is a fantasy drama television series based on the novel series of the same name by Philip Pullman. It is produced by Bad Wolf and New Line Productions for BBC One and HBO, with HBO handling international distribution.

Plot summary

His Dark Materials is set in a multi-world reality, with the action moving from one world to another. The series is based on Philip Pullman's trilogy of the same name. It begins in an alternative world where all humans' souls manifest as animal companions called daemons. The series follows the life of a young girl named Lyra who is an orphan living with the scholars at Jordan College, Oxford, in a world governed by the Magisterium, a religious and political body. Lyra discovers a dangerous secret that involves Lord Asriel and Marisa Coulter, and is the subject of a witches prophecy that she will change the world. In her search for a missing friend, Lyra also uncovers a series of kidnappings and its link to a mysterious substance called Dust, which leads her on a journey of epic proportions and ultimately to other worlds. The witches' prophecy also links Lyra's destiny to Will, a teenager from our world, who is himself being pursued by mysterious figures connected to his vanished father.

Source: His Dark Materials Wiki

Main character names

• Lyra Belacqua 
• Mrs. Coulter
• Lord Asriel Belacqua
• Lee Scoresby
• Will Parry

You can find out more about the characters on the BBC His Dark Materials website here.

Season 2, Episode 1: The City of Magpies

Episode analysis

The show is a fantasy television series based on fantasy novels. It was produced by BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation - same company who made Doctor Who) and HBO (American company). It is set in a multi-world reality with action moving between worlds. Lyra, the main character, has grown up an orphan who discovers that there is a prophecy that foretells that she will change the world. Will is a fugitive (runaway) from ‘our world’ where he killed someone in self-defence. They meet in a third world called Cittagazze which is run down and neglected. They learn from some kids there that all the adults (and kids when they come of age) are hunted and drained of their energy and basically changed into zombies by evil black clouds called ‘Spectres’. Meanwhile, an evil villain called Mrs Coulter is on board a ship with the Magisterium (male Priests in authority roles - like politicians.) She tortures a witch for information regarding Lyra and mysterious ‘dust’ but the witch is put out of her misery by her fellow witch Ruta Skardi who sets her free by killing her to stop the pain. Skardi also seriously injures the head of the Magisterium and Mrs Coulter offers a deal to his deputy: in exchange for more power and freedom, she will kill the head priest and say he died of his injuries from the witch.

You can read a good episode recap from the website 25 Years Later here or alternatively this episode recap from the Daily Bruin is quite critical which gives an interesting perspective. 

 

Key names, words and spellings:

• Magisterium: the authority group of male priests (religious men) from Lyra’s world. It is a patriarchal society (ruled by men).
• Daemon: the name given to the shape-shifting animal that is part of your soul (in Lyra’s world). Everyone has one in her world. 
• Lyra Silvertongue: protagonist (main character, hero) who is on the run from her world due to being hunted. She is the subject of a prophecy (fortune) that says she will change the world.
• Dust: magic particles that open portals to other worlds. Some people believe they represent sin.
• Will Parry: a human child from ‘our world’ who has never seen a daemon before. 
• Mrs Coulter: an evil villain who wants to find Lyra and control the world. She tortures a witch nearly to death and then she prepares to kill the head of the Magisterium so she can gain more control. 
• Ruta Skardi: the witch who, when her fellow witches did not take action, saved the prisoner witch by killing her and attacked the members of the magisterium on her own, escaping afterwards. 
• Cittàgazze: the name of the city in the third world where Will and Lyra meet.
• Alethiometer: the gadget that looks like a clock which Lyra consults and it gives her ‘truth’ - answers to her questions.

Narrative: multi-strand narrative

There are a number of narrative strands running through this episode.  They include:

• Lyra and Will explore a new world and the city of Cittàgazze.
• Mrs Coulter tries to find answers for the Magisterium then offers power to Father MacPhail by letting the head of the Magisterium die.
• Lyra and Will meet abandoned children in the city of Cittàgazze and find that the adults have all left due to the Spectres stealing their souls.
• Lee Scoresby goes on a mission for an object that can protect Lyra. The council of witches supports his plan.

Representations

His Dark Materials - Subverting stereotypes 

Men and women

Many characters in this episode of His Dark Materials subvert stereotypes. Lyra is a strong, independent female character who doesn't need or want help from anyone on her dangerous quest across different worlds. She can't cook, isn't bothered by her appearance and takes what she wants. Mrs Coulter also subverts female stereotypes as a cold hearted villain. She is actually Lyra's mother but displays none of the maternal stereotypes the media usually presents as typically female.

Meanwhile, Will subverts male or masculine stereotypes. He is kind, welcoming and wants to help Lyra. He cooks her food and makes up beds for them to sleep in. Not all characters subvert stereotypes though - Lee Scoresby is in many ways a classic masculine man on a mission to help Lyra.
 
Race, ethnicity and social class 

The actors in His Dark Materials are from a range of ethnic and social class backgrounds and the character of Will subverts stereotypes of race and ethnicity as well as gender. However, some stereotypes are reinforced - the abandoned children in Cittàgazze are presented as working class in a very stereotypical way. 

Age

Most of the main characters in this series and episode are children and they are shown not to need adults or help from older people. The abandoned children of Cittàgazze also demonstrate they can live without adults - which subverts typical stereotypes. Mrs Coulter also shows how stereotypes are subverted as a parent who does not care for her child.

His Dark Materials: Language and Representation blog tasks

Create a new blogpost called 'His Dark Materials: Language and Representation blog tasks' and work through the following tasks:

Language and close-textual analysis

1) Write an analysis of the episode - using your notes from the screening in class. Make specific, detailed reference to moments in the text using media terminology (e.g. media language - camera shots and movement, editing, diegetic/non-diegetic sound, mise-en-scene etc.)

You can currently watch His Dark Materials on BBC iPlayer here.

Camerawork, editing and sound: 

Mise-en-scene:

Narrative and genre: 

You can access our notes from the close-textual analysis in a previous class here - you'll need your Greenford Google login to open this.

2) How does His Dark Materials fit the conventions of the fantasy TV genre?

3) Applying Propp's character theory, what character roles do some of the main characters in His Dark Materials fit into? 

4) What enigma and action codes (Barthes) can you find in His Dark Materials? Make specific, detailed reference to the text using media terminology (e.g. media language - camera shots, diegetic/non-diegetic sound, mise-en-scene etc.)

5) What examples of binary opposition (Levi-Strauss) can you find in His Dark Materials? How do these create narrative or drama for the audience? You can find reminder notes on all these narrative theories here - just scroll down to narrative. 


Representations

1) How are women represented in His Dark Materials? Are gender stereotypes reinforced or subverted? Think about Lyra and Mrs Coulter here.

2) How are men and masculinity represented in His Dark Materials? Think about Will and Lee Scoresby here.

3) How is age (e.g. teenagers; adults) represented in His Dark Materials? Does the show reinforce or challenge stereotypes about young people? Think about Lyra and Will plus the abandoned children they meet. Also think about Mrs Coulter and other adults.

4) How is race and ethnicity represented in His Dark Materials? Are stereotypes reinforced or subverted?

5) What representations of the world can you find in the episode - is it like real life? A fantasy world? Something from the past or future? Give examples from the episode.

Grade 8/9 extension tasks

You can read a detailed episode recap from the website 25 Years Later here which will make you more of an expert on the CSP.

Think about how politicians, religion and people with power are represented in the episode. For example, how are the Magisterium shown in this episode? This is a higher-level reading of His Dark Materials.

Read the critical Daily Bruin summary of the episode. Do you agree with the criticism? Why?

Due date on Google Classroom

Doctor Who: Audience and Industries

The second half of our Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child case study focuses on the key concepts of Industry and Audience.

You'll find all the answers you need in the notes and clips below. You can then complete the blog tasks at the bottom of this blogpost.

Notes from the lessons

Audience

Reminder: demographics and psychographics

Demographics: The audience classified through ‘fixed’ characteristics such as: age, gender, race/ethnicity, where you live, job.

Psychographics: The audience classified through beliefs, values, hobbies and interests such as: Strugglers, Reformers, Aspirers and Mainstreamers. 

General audience notes:

• Mainstream family audience – broad appeal as millions of people watch the BBC.
• Long-running which shows it appeals to mainstream audience (age 10-40+). 
• An Unearthly Child given PG certificate – parental guidance.
• Demographics: A-E class as some complex plot points but also action that is easy to understand.
• Gender: split down middle (although traditional science fiction fans were male, this has changed over time. From 1970-2010 the female sci-fi audience grew by 22%).

Audience pleasures

We can apply Blumler and Katz's Uses and Gratifications theory when analysing the audience pleasures offered by Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child. Remember, we must consider it from the perspective of a viewer in the 1960s who would have reacted in quite a different way to an audience in 2020. Remember, the four key categories for Uses and Gratifications theory:

INFORMATION/SURVEILLANCE: learning information that you did not already know. Doctor Who offers its audience an education about space travel, science and history.  

PERSONAL IDENTITY: personally relating to something - seeing your lifestyle on screen. Think about how different audiences may identify with Susan, her teachers or the Doctor.

DIVERSION/ENTERTAINMENT: escapism and being entertained away from your normal life. Science Fiction is a classic genre for escapism - what examples of this could be found in the episode?

PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS: caring about characters and wanting to find out what happens to them. This is the first episode of four - which characters do you think the audience will want to follow on their journey? 

The 3 Vs

VISCERAL PLEASURE: Physical thrill of watching something e.g hairs on the back of your neck in a horror film, sport, big explosions. 

VICARIOUS PLEASURE: Experiencing something through the characters (e.g. time/space travel). 

VOYEURISTIC PLEASURE: Watching something you wouldn't normally get a chance to see (e.g. inside TARDIS).

Doctor Who fan culture: Whovians

Doctor Who now has an international online fan culture of events, fan fiction, fan-edited trailers and more. The BBC also produces merchandise to sell to this audience. 

The 'Whoniverse'

The ‘Whoniverse’ is made up of podcasts, spin-offs (other shows that derive from the main Doctor Who and have settings, ideas, characters in common e.g. K-9 which is a kid’s show about Doctor Who’s robot dog) and documentaries, behind-the-scenes, sneak peaks and so on.

In the most recent series of Doctor Who, this fan culture actually appeared in an episode: 

You can read more about Doctor Who's fans and its cultural impact in the extension articles at the bottom of this post. 

Industries

TV industry in 1963

There were only two TV channels in the UK in 1963: BBC and ITV. 

In terms of technology, videotape had only been in use for seven years when An Unearthly Child was made. It allowed the BBC to create the space and time travel effects we can see in the episode which were considered amazing at the time. 

In 1967, BBC2 launched as the first colour TV channel. BBC1 and ITV then switched to colour in 1969 as more people bought colour TVs. 

Compared to the digital and streaming TV landscape of today, 1960s television was a different world.

Importance of Doctor Who to BBC

Doctor Who is one of the most iconic franchises that the BBC has. It has been shown all over the world through BBC Worldwide and generates huge income for the BBC.

In 2014, a BBC Worldwide Report stated Sherlock and Doctor Who as the BBC’s biggest exports of the past year. The worldwide simulcast (simultaneous transmission) of “The Day of the Doctor” in 2013 saw this episode air at the same time in 98 countries on six continents.

 

Doctor Who franchise: spin-offs 

The BBC has maximised the popularity of the Doctor Who franchise by creating a series of spin-offs that build on the same universe or characters as the original show. These include:

• K9
• Sarah Jane Adventures
• Torchwood
• Class

These spin-offs allow the BBC to target slightly different audiences while still taking advantage of the huge Doctor Who fanbase. 

Spin-offs - opening titles:

Audience and Industry: blog tasks

Create a new blogpost called 'Doctor Who: Audience and Industry blog tasks' and answer the following questions:

Audience

1) Who is the target audience for Doctor Who? Do you think it has changed since 1963?

2) What audience pleasures are offered by Doctor Who - An Unearthly Child? Apply Blumler and Katz's Uses and Gratifications theory to the episode. Make sure you provide specific examples from the episode to support your ideas.

Personal Identity:

Personal Relationships:

Diversion (Escapism):

Surveillance (Information / Facts):

3) What additional Uses and Gratifications would this episode provide to a modern 2020s audience?

4) Thinking of the 3 Vs audience pleasures (Visceral, Vicarious and Voyeuristic pleasures), which of these can be applied to An Unearthly Child?

5) What kind of online fan culture does Doctor Who have? Give examples.

Industries

1) What was the television industry like in 1963? How many channels were there?

2) How does An Unearthly Child reflect the level of technology in the TV industry in 1963?

3) Why is Doctor Who such an important franchise for the BBC? 

4) What other programmes/spin-offs are part of the wider Doctor Who franchise?

5) Why does the Doctor Who franchise have so much merchandise available? Give examples. 

Grade 8/9 extension tasks and reading

Read this Guardian feature 'Is Doctor Who doomed?' which contains lots of industry and audience context that will help us reach the top levels in exams.

Read this press statement from Disney+ regarding Doctor Who and their agreement with the BBC. What does this tell you about the global television industry?

Read this Guardian article about Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies and the possible end of the BBC. What does he say about it?

Read this New Statesman feature on Doctor Who as a global phenomenon. What does it suggest about Doctor Who fandom, British identity and the importance of the brand to the BBC?

Read this Guardian feature on the representations of race and ethnicity in Doctor Who over the last 55 years. How has the programme changed in its representations of race and how does this fit the BBC's remit to inform, educate and entertain? 

You will have some lesson time to work on this but will need to complete this for homework - due date on Google Classroom.